Shinjuku Tokyo November 2023 - Part 2
- cazphillips2
- Jan 7
- 6 min read
TOKYO -PART 2
In planning our trip and especially transport to the ryokan we found the App and website Japan transit planner invaluable.
You enter in your starting point and where you want to end up and it will give you the exact configuration of transportation to get you there allowing you to choose a start or arrival time, the cheapest, the fastest or the easiest routes.
Working out routes, whilst made easy with the relevant technology, caused us the most arguments. I think it was that age old issue where one of you is absolutely certain that they are more adept at the task in hand than the other. Combined with 2 people trying to do the same job, with no clear boundaries. I found myself screaming inwardly “stay in your lane!” multiple times a day, and we weren’t even driving. The Favourite Husband definitely thought he was the expert, as he’d had over a week navigating his travel prior to my arrival. I, upon arrival, instantly assumed I was the expert as I’d grown up in London utilising the tube essentially from birth. Going forward we realised the best way was to simply have allocated roles within our adventures, both be responsible for different things and try not to cross over. That seems to work better. It was that or divorce, and that’s too expensive. (There was, of course, a third option but apparently it’s illegal and results in a lengthy prison term.)
We started the day with some mid-morning sushi from a chain restaurant, it was exceptional. You order using a tablet on your table and can just keep adding more and more, dangerous.
Our adventure to the ryokan was a journey from the city out and up to the mountains of Hakone. The ryokan would pick us up from Miyanoshita station by shuttle bus and take us to our lodgings. We had chosen a room that had a private onsen, with a mountain view. All bookings include the multi course kaiseki meal and breakfast, but they vary in price depending on whether you chose a private onsen or prefer the communal ones. The downside of the communal ones is they are separated into male and female unless you book a time for a private couple’s one.
The train journey using the journey planner worked a treat. The initial train is called a Romancecar, so it was a good job we’d stopped bickering about who was in charge by the time we boarded. The final train up the mountains of Hakone was fascinating, the train ride takes you from the base of the Hakone mountains to the Gora area in about 40 minutes and 6 stops along the way. It uses a switchback system to zigzag up the steep mountain. It was surprisingly busy but it got us there on time where we were indeed met by the shuttle bus.
On arriving at the ryokan you take your shoes off before entering and are given some health forms to complete with a herbal tea before being taken to your traditional room.
We stayed here http://www.musasino.net/ and I cannot recommend it enough. They have a total of twenty rooms and also a spa. We changed into our yukata and relaxed. We both enjoyed the onsen and the room came with a separate lounge area to relax in.
It was really windy up in the mountains and the noise of the wind rustling through the leaves and the bamboo was so soothing. Whilst we did nothing, the other room was then set up for our dinner. We were slightly nervous about the food and also the sitting on the floor, neither of us being particularly flexible, to the point where the Favourite Husband doesn’t bend in places he should. We ordered a wine and a beer and then went all in with a rather expensive (and enormous) bottle of saki which needless to say we didn’t finish. The dinner was about seven courses and was spectacular. A little was lost in translation, but the menu did have an English translation which was a godsend. The food is essentially art. It is unbelievable. It consisted of;
Aperitif: Home-made plum liqueur
Starter: Soya milk block, maple bread, red snow crab, caviar on the side
Appetiser: Small sea bream sushi
Mixed various mushrooms and yellow chrysanthemum flower
Mixed whelk shellfish and salted cod with red pepper, Japanese yam dumpling
Skewered taste of Autumn, chestnuts and purple sweet potato block
Grilled pork gratin
Vinegar Dish: Jellied shellfish ligament and seaweed. Deep fried purple sweet potato
Rolled salmon, decoration cucumber, orange vinegar
Earthenware Teapot: Matsutake mushroom, chicken, shrimp, maple bread, gingo nut, honewort
Sashimi: Bluefin tuna, sea bream and gingo nut bread
Greater amberjack and Japanese yam, several garnishes and Japanese wasabi
Main Dish: Abalone shellfish served with mixed vegetables
Earthenware Baking Pan: Shrimp, splendid alfonsino, shimeji mushroom, scallop rolled in bacon, chestnut
Simmered Dish: Deep friend eggplant, taro boiled, maple bread, pumpkin and sweet potato dumpling
Rice: Steamed Koshihikari rice, harvested from Azumino in Nagano
Homemade Miso Soup: Yam bulblets, lily bulb, cubed sweet potato, onion
Pickled Vegetable: Seasonal vegetables
Dessert: Seasonal fruits and cake
You are waited on by a lady in traditional kimono dress who kneels and serves you at the low table, they are known as “Nakai.” Our Nakai got an uncontrollable fit of the giggles when she went to light the Favourite Husbands claypot to cook his abalone on (yes, they are alive – and moving) only to find he’d already eaten the raw brussel sprouts, courgette and mushroom that were meant to gently simmer with the butter and abalone.
After dinner the table is cleared away and the room transformed into a bedroom with futons made up on the tatami mat floor. We went for a private couples onsen outside which was a nice add on. There are seven hot springs baths here, two main one’s for men and two main one’s for women, a family open air bath and two private ones.
And then to bed. Not the most comfortable night’s sleep, just because we’re not used to it. But I thoroughly recommend the experience.
Breakfast was a challenge for our Westernised palate, including octopus egg custard with soy sauce, tofu and pickled fish with vegetables.
Tofu
Vinegared fish and vegetables
Octopus soy egg custard
Pickled fish with dumplings and taro
Then it was time to check out and return to the train station and the journey back to Shinjuku. As we were returning to the Regency Hyatt, we had been able to leave our luggage there in storage and only take an overnight bag to the ryokan. This made travelling on the train super easy.
We returned to the hotel and put our feet up before hopping on the subway this time (I was still in charge of route planning, so technically I won …) and heading to the Tokyo Christmas market https://tokyochristmas.net/
We got off at the right stop and followed our maps through a park. On exiting the park opposite where the Christmas market was, we were hit by the most enormous crowd of people that we’d seen, other than at the train station. Was it us? Did they know we were coming? No, it was … trees. One of the most famous spots to get an Instagram worthy shot apparently was right here. It is called meiji jingu gaien ginkgo avenue, and features 146 ginko trees that run for about 300 meters down this avenue. The time of year that we were here made them absolutely stunning in the low early evening light. So we joined the throng and took some pictures for the Gram too. Because we’re cool and down with the “yoof.”
Now, I love ALL things Christmas. Especially a winter Christmas. Christmas in NZ isn’t Christmas to me. Who wants to stay up until 10pm sweating in shorts just to get the full effect of the fairy lights? Ridiculous. So, a proper European style Christmas market, count me in. And it didn’t disappoint. A huge variety of food stalls offering anything from steak sandwiches, to German beers and sausages and everything in between. Perhaps, unsurprisingly, my favourite being the mulled cider stall. Although the alcoholic hot chocolate would have to be a close second. Also at the Christmas market are various workshops that you can enrol in, including how to make a snow globe or Christmas candles. With each entry you get a souvenir Tokyo Christmas Markets mug too. It was delightful.
We then hopped on the subway back to our hotel and soaked up more Christmas lights in Chuo park.
We had a further 24 hours in Tokyo, more sightseeing and shopping. We barely touched the surface, there is so much to see and so many different areas that would have very different atmospheres to Shinjuku, you can’t do it all in a week. So I’m guessing we will have to return.
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